Search - Johnny Coles :: Little Johnny C

"Little Johnny C" is Back!

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 02/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The recent batch of Blue Note RVG releases will make many a jazz fan salivate as several extremely hard to find, previously out-of-print CDs are being made readily available once more. This particular title, "Little Johnny C," has been a rare find over the years, first as an LP and then in its first CD incarnation in the limited edition Connoisseur Series in the late 90s. I suppose it's only fitting because Johnny Coles has always been something of a rare find himself, appearing on only a handful of titles over the years including several Mingus live albums, Herbie Hancock's "The Prisoner" and his own "The Warm Sound" for Epic (see my reviews of the latter two). The vastly underrated trumpeter is joined on this session by BN regulars Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson and Bob Cranshaw, and by Leo Wright on alto sax and flute. The drum throne is split by Walter Perkins (on the first three tracks from 7/18/63) and Pete LaRoca (tracks 4-6 from 8/9/63). The disc features five original compositions by pianist Pearson, including the title track and the gorgeous "So Sweet My Little Girl," and one Henderson tune -- "Hobo Joe." With this reissue, Blue Note fans will be delighted that "Little Johnny C" is back in town for good."

Music 5 stars, Copy Controlled Tech No stars

Jazzcat | Genoa, Italy Italy | 08/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would like to use the space of this review to talk a little bit about Blue Note' s Copy Controlled Technology. To be very honest I would call it a NON-Technology. First of all I will raise a philosofical question? Can they limit me in the use of a product that I have honestly bought ... a product that now it is mine? In the name of what? If I want to have a copy for my personal use or if I want to pass this music in my Ipod, why can't I be able to do this? Is it possible they can limit me so hardly and prohibit this common use of my own personal original cd to me? In the name of what? Think about this ... But apart from this important question let's go back to the technology aspect of this thing. I would call the Copy Controlled S..T a Non-Technology simply because it is not a serious thing, and it doesn't do what it is supposed to do. It's there because it should not permit you to copy the music. Does it do this? The answear is NO, because if you have a simple Itunes program, you can copy the music easily on another cd and that's it. You can then copy the music how many times you want with any other program (like Sony's Sonic Stage for example). So is this system clever? NO! Is this useful? NO! Does it do what it is supposed to do? No! Is it respectful of the people who really buy the record and limit those who don't want to spend the money for it? NO! It does exactly the opposite!!!! What does it do? It let people that don't buy the record to easily copy it and pass them to whoever they want and in the meanwhile it creates a lot of anger and frustrations in the people that really buy the original cd because they encounter problems with some readers, they have to pass through Itunes to bypass the copy controlled tech and so on. In the end it causes to Blue Note a lot of problems because I know of people that totally refuse to buy Blue Note cds because Blue Note is applying this stupid program in their products. By the way it's a commercial nonsense. How do you manage to publish a cd that has this writing on its back "On some equipment for example car cd players problems may be encountered" (but I know for sure that it can create serious problems to some very precious Mark Levinson machines... a friend of mine had those problems and now literally HATE Blue Note for that and he pormised he would never buy a Blue Note cd again in his life! Nice move Blue Note, many compliments!!!). Are they crazy? My money has no problems whatsoever, so why they sell me a product that can cause me problems!?!?! Are they crazy? And what happens if I want to listen to my cd that I have bought with real no-problem money in my car? Why can't I do this?!?! As an advertising pro I can suggest them to quit this system immediatly, the sooner the better, because it is causing them an important loss of image in their public's eyes. By the way as I pointed out in another review on this matter, jazz fans don't want copies, everyone knows this, they want to own the real cds in their loved collections, so this technology is totally wrong. At Blue Note they don't even know their target! Blue Note believe me, QUIT ASAP THIS STUFF! For your own good.



Talking about this album by the less known Johnny Coles I can say it's a very beautiful session. The line up is well put together, with Joe Henderson as the second horn and leo Wright on alto sax and flute. Duke Pearson is the pianist and also the writer of all the tunes except one, the blues Hobo Joe by Joe Henderson. The first tune is a fast swing blues. The second tune, Hobo Joe is a funky medium tempo blues very interesting and effective. Jano a more modal fast progression. My secret passion a fast 3/4. Heavy Legs is an hard bop line fast and typical Blue Note of the period (1963), again very modal (it seems a sort of Miles Davis "So what" for the most part). The last tune still by Duke Pearson "So sweet my little girl" is a lovely and haunting ballad in a sort of ante litteram ECM mood ... a very strong and emotional ballad. Mine is an easy advice for the jazz enthusiasts. This is a very beautiful record that deserves the attention of the Blue Note fans. I have already give my advice to Blue Note ... they should think very seriously about it."

Johnny Coles

John W. Collins | 03/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The recording gives one to hear Coles as a leader. Before this, I only

heard him in a supporting role, but I liked the way he played. It

would be nice if more recordings of J. Coles as a leader were available."